Contact

wilbur.lua@covenantchambers.com

Office: +65 6635 8885

Focus Areas

Dispute Resolution

  • Civil and Commercial Litigation

  • Mediation

  • International Arbitration

  • Criminal Defence

Commercial & Property Disputes

  • Business, Shareholders & Partnership Disputes

  • Competition & Antitrust

  • Fraud & Asset Recovery

  • Property Ownership & Trust Disputes

Family Practice

  • Family Offices

  • Legacy Planning: Wills & Trusts

  • Probate & Estate Administration

  • Matrimonial Law

Medical Negligence & Personal Injury

  • Personal Injury & Accident

Restructuring & Insolvency

  • Insolvency Disputes

  • Enforcing Creditors’ Rights

  • Corporate Rescues

  • Workouts & Debt Restructuring

Memberships

  • Member, Law Society of Singapore

  • Member, Singapore Academy of Law

Accolades & Awards

  • Dean’s List (Overall), Law, NUS

  • Lai Kew Chai Prize in Equity and Trusts

Education / Qualifications

  • Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore (2018)

  • LLB (Hons), NUS

  • B.Soc.Sci (Economics) (Hons) (First Class), NUS

 

Wilbur Lua

Director

Wilbur commenced his legal career by serving as a State Counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers. In 2018, Wilbur left public service to pursue his passion for helping others resolve challenging legal issues. He practices across a broad range of practice areas, with a special focus on civil and commercial disputes.

During his time in practice, Wilbur has successfully guided many clients towards a favourable resolution of their legal disputes. Whether he is serving a corporate client or the man on the street, Wilbur spares no effort to help all clients achieve the best possible outcome for their situation. He is an excellent listener, and his clients can always count on him to provide thoughtful, objective, and practical advice that will help them navigate through their legal challenges.

With his keen eye for detail and strong understanding of the law, Wilbur can help his clients find the best arguments to present to the adjudicator when an amicable resolution is not possible. In his capacity as an advocate, Wilbur has appeared before various levels of courts and tribunals alike.

Wilbur continues to have a heart for serving the public. He is active in pro bono work and does his part to prepare the next generation of lawyers by teaching as an instructor of legal skills at the National University of Singapore and being an internship mentor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Sample Cases

Dispute Resolution

  • Acted as lead counsel for a corporate client who was a victim of a cheating scam involving a six-figure sum. Wilbur assisted the client in substantially recovering the monies that were dishonestly appropriated.

  • Acted as lead counsel for an investor to seek a refund of a personal investment after it was discovered that the underlying investment was part of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme by a third party. Even though the defendant was not a party to the scheme, Wilbur successfully assisted the client to obtain relief by relying on the doctrine of “total failure of consideration”.

  • Acted as lead counsel for a sole proprietor to seek relief from various onerous obligations imposed by the distributor. Wilbur successfully obtained declaratory relief from the District Court for his client.

  • Acted as lead counsel for clients to seek redress for unjustified comments containing defamatory content that were made pursuant to a commercial dispute. Wilbur assisted the clients to resolve the matter amicably and obtain a satisfactory compensation sum.

Commercial & Property Disputes

  • Advised and represented the Singapore Land Authority (as part of a legal team) to defend the compensation awarded pursuant to various compulsory acquisition exercises before the Appeals Board (Land Acquisition).

  • Acted for two poultry supply companies (as part of a legal team) in an appeal against a seven-figure fine imposed by the Competition Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) for various alleged anti-competitive practices. This was the first time a trial on liability was conducted before the Competition Appeal Board (CAB). The team was successful in persuading the CAB to overturn the CCCS decision on liability for one of the two alleged anti-competitive practices, and the fine was substantially reduced by 71%.

  • Acted as lead counsel for a corporate client in a specific discovery application involving the novel issue of marital privilege. Wilbur was successful in assisting his client to overcome the objections that were based on marital privilege before the appellate Court.

Family Practice

  • Acted as lead counsel for the family members of a person who had lost mental capacity in a highly contested appeal involving the issue of the appointment of deputies. Wilbur was successful in assisting the clients to obtain the desired deputyship orders from the Family Division of the High Court.

  • Acted for a wife (as part of a legal team) in a contested matrimonial appeal on ancillary matters. The team successfully persuaded the court that an adverse inference should be drawn against the husband for non-disclosure, and assisted the wife to obtain an increase in her share of matrimonial assets.  

Restructuring & Insolvency

  • Acted as lead counsel for various clients in debt recovery proceedings against both personal and corporate debtors

Published Judgments

Media Mentions

Articles

Volunteer Work

  • Legal Clinic Instructor, Centre for Pro Bono and Clinical Legal Education, National University of Singapore

  • Supervisor, Legal Clerkship Programme, Singapore University of Social Sciences

  • Volunteer Instructor, MINDEF Basic Defending Officer Course

  • Volunteer Lawyer, Criminal Legal Aid Scheme /

  • Law Society Ad Hoc Pro Bono Scheme / Family Justice Support Scheme

  • Volunteer Lawyer, Charis Legal Clinic

Wilbur Lua

Director

Wilbur commenced his legal career by serving as a State Counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers. In 2018, Wilbur left public service to pursue his passion for helping others resolve challenging legal issues. He practices across a broad range of practice areas, with a special focus on civil and commercial disputes.

During his time in practice, Wilbur has successfully guided many clients towards a favourable resolution of their legal disputes. Whether he is serving a corporate client or the man on the street, Wilbur spares no effort to help all clients achieve the best possible outcome for their situation. He is an excellent listener, and his clients can always count on him to provide thoughtful, objective, and practical advice that will help them navigate through their legal challenges.

With his keen eye for detail and strong understanding of the law, Wilbur can help his clients find the best arguments to present to the adjudicator when an amicable resolution is not possible. In his capacity as an advocate, Wilbur has appeared before various levels of courts and tribunals alike.

Wilbur continues to have a heart for serving the public. He is active in pro bono work and does his part to prepare the next generation of lawyers by teaching as an instructor of legal skills at the National University of Singapore and being an internship mentor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Sample Cases

Dispute Resolution

  • Acted as lead counsel for a corporate client who was a victim of a cheating scam involving a six-figure sum. Wilbur assisted the client in substantially recovering the monies that were dishonestly appropriated.

  • Acted as lead counsel for an investor to seek a refund of a personal investment after it was discovered that the underlying investment was part of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme by a third party. Even though the defendant was not a party to the scheme, Wilbur successfully assisted the client to obtain relief by relying on the doctrine of “total failure of consideration”.

  • Acted as lead counsel for a sole proprietor to seek relief from various onerous obligations imposed by the distributor. Wilbur successfully obtained declaratory relief from the District Court for his client.

  • Acted as lead counsel for clients to seek redress for unjustified comments containing defamatory content that were made pursuant to a commercial dispute. Wilbur assisted the clients to resolve the matter amicably and obtain a satisfactory compensation sum.

Commercial & Property Disputes

  • Advised and represented the Singapore Land Authority (as part of a legal team) to defend the compensation awarded pursuant to various compulsory acquisition exercises before the Appeals Board (Land Acquisition).

  • Acted for two poultry supply companies (as part of a legal team) in an appeal against a seven-figure fine imposed by the Competition Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) for various alleged anti-competitive practices. This was the first time a trial on liability was conducted before the Competition Appeal Board (CAB). The team was successful in persuading the CAB to overturn the CCCS decision on liability for one of the two alleged anti-competitive practices, and the fine was substantially reduced by 71%.

  • Acted as lead counsel for a corporate client in a specific discovery application involving the novel issue of marital privilege. Wilbur was successful in assisting his client to overcome the objections that were based on marital privilege before the appellate Court.

Family Practice

  • Acted as lead counsel for the family members of a person who had lost mental capacity in a highly contested appeal involving the issue of the appointment of deputies. Wilbur was successful in assisting the clients to obtain the desired deputyship orders from the Family Division of the High Court.

  • Acted for a wife (as part of a legal team) in a contested matrimonial appeal on ancillary matters. The team successfully persuaded the court that an adverse inference should be drawn against the husband for non-disclosure, and assisted the wife to obtain an increase in her share of matrimonial assets.  

Restructuring & Insolvency

  • Acted as lead counsel for various clients in debt recovery proceedings against both personal and corporate debtors

Published Judgments

Media Mentions

Articles

Volunteer Work

  • Legal Clinic Instructor, Centre for Pro Bono and Clinical Legal Education, National University of Singapore

  • Supervisor, Legal Clerkship Programme, Singapore University of Social Sciences

  • Volunteer Instructor, MINDEF Basic Defending Officer Course

  • Volunteer Lawyer, Criminal Legal Aid Scheme /

  • Law Society Ad Hoc Pro Bono Scheme / Family Justice Support Scheme

  • Volunteer Lawyer, Charis Legal Clinic

Contact

wilbur.lua@covenantchambers.com

Office: +65 6635 8885

Focus Areas

Dispute Resolution

  • Civil and Commercial Litigation

  • Mediation

  • International Arbitration

  • Criminal Defence

Commercial & Property Disputes

  • Business, Shareholders & Partnership Disputes

  • Competition & Antitrust

  • Fraud & Asset Recovery

  • Property Ownership & Trust Disputes

Family Practice

  • Family Offices

  • Legacy Planning: Wills & Trusts

  • Probate & Estate Administration

  • Matrimonial Law

Medical Negligence & Personal Injury

  • Personal Injury & Accident

Restructuring & Insolvency

  • Insolvency Disputes

  • Enforcing Creditors’ Rights

  • Corporate Rescues

  • Workouts & Debt Restructuring

Memberships

  • Member, Law Society of Singapore

  • Member, Singapore Academy of Law

Accolades & Awards

  • Dean’s List (Overall), Law, NUS

  • Lai Kew Chai Prize in Equity and Trusts

Education / Qualifications

  • Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore (2018)

  • LLB (Hons), NUS

  • B.Soc.Sci (Economics) (Hons) (First Class), NUS

What Our Clients Are Saying

  • "Last year, my husband and I were fortunate to be referred to Wilbur for a matter which required legal representation. Wilbur was helpful, precise and with his help, the matter was quickly settled because when we approached his firm, the matter was stagnant without much progress for almost 2 years. The experience to work with Wilbur and his firm has been satisfactory. Thank you Wilbur and his team."

    Mrs Cheung

  • "Mr Lua is a very experienced lawyer. He looked through my case and on the first meeting, he gave me various options that I could take and the respective costs involved. He is a very detailed, thorough and careful lawyer. He always provides good advice. He is very hard working and humble and will always answer all my questions without fail, promptly. His team is very friendly and always makes me feel at home."

    Mr A. Chia

  • "I strongly recommend Wilbur as he was and still is very sensitive and attentive. He is client centric, approachable and hardworking. He had given me very sound and excellent advice and I could indeed trust him fully to represent me and my interests."

    Mr V. Lee

  • "Wilbur Lua was dedicated and committed in representing me. He was clear in explaining to me the different viable options in defending my case. He listens to my queries and answers my concerns professionally."

    Ms. C. Cheoh

  • "Mr Wilbur Lua represented me under The Law Society's Pro Bono scheme. He took time to understand my case and was knowledgeable, detailed, patient and thorough. My sincere thanks and appreciation to Covenant Chambers and Mr. Wilbur Lua."

    Mr E. Tan

  • "Mr Lua was very straightforward and told me what to expect each step of the way. He kept me informed of each step and what the options were and what the risks were. Mr Lua responded to my emails and texts in a timely manner and answered any questions I had in great detail. He is a representative of his clients to a level of professionalism and I want to express my gratitude and advocate for his firm."

    Ms X.Y. Chang